Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (57 page)

               
“I’m 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, and Damien is roughly 5-foot-11, 180 pounds,”
Jackson states.  “That’s why it’s a good thing he punched Jude.  I
probably would have broken his face.”

               
“You’re sexy.” Kayla giggles.  “You know you are, right?”

               
The corner of Jackson’s mouth twitches.  “Sure, but I like it when you
tell me.”

               
“Shut up!  You aren’t supposed to say stuff like that.”

               
He puts his hands up. “Just telling the truth.”

               
“Mmm, we need some music.”  She bends over and plugs in her iPod. 
“What do you want to listen to?”

               
“Something upbeat.”

               
“Dance music?” Kayla asks. “Or, like, eighties music?”

               
Jackson thinks about it for a minute. “Eighties music.”

               
“Awesome.” She presses play and music fills the car. She can’t help but sing to
it.

               
He looks at her and inquires, “Are you going to sing the whole way?”

               
Kayla shuts up quickly.  “Sorry.”

               
“No, no, no, I don’t mind.  Go ahead.  You have a pretty voice and
watching you bop around is entertaining.”

               
“Okay.” She starts to sing again.  For the next hour, she either sings or
they talk about random things. 

               
“You should eat some brownies,” Jackson says.

               
“Good idea,” Kayla chirps.  She unfastens her seat belt and bends over the
center console to the backseat.

               
“Dear Lord, Kayla, you’re going to make me crash,” Jackson sputters.

               
She sits up and looks at him over her shoulder.  “Why?  I’m not even
touching you.”

               
Trying to suppress a smile, Jackson says, “Yeah, but your butt is in my face,
and you have a skirt on.”

               
She leans back over the console and teases, “Don’t look then.  You’re the
one who put the cooler on the floor.”

               
“How am I not supposed to look?” Jackson exclaims.  “I’m a guy.  Of
course I’m going to look!”

               
“Well, I have pretty underwear on, so it doesn’t matter.” Kayla sighs, opening
the cooler.

               
Jackson snorts. “I see that.”

               
A huge grin passes over Kayla’s face.  She bends even farther on
purpose.  “Gosh,” she sighs. “I just can’t seem to find what I’m looking
for.”

               
“Kayla,” Jackson scolds. “Stop it!  You’re going to make me wreck your
brand-new car.”

               
“Keep your eyes on the road.” Kayla giggles.

               
“Sit back down and put your seat belt on.”

               
Kayla grabs brownies and two bottles of water.  She plops back down on her
seat.  “There. Happy?”

               
“We’re not going to tell Damien about that.” Jackson laughs.  “Dear Lord,
the thoughts going through my head right now.”

               
“Oh really,” Kayla teases.  “How bad are they?”  She starts to pull
her skirt up her leg very slowly.

               
Jackson reaches out and pulls it back down. “Stop it.”

               
She giggles hysterically.  “For payback, I think you should drive the
whole way with your shirt off.”

               
“When you drive, I’ll strip.”

               
“No, then I will definitely crash.  Is my car as kick ass as it seems?”

               
He nods. “Definitely kick ass, especially for it being completely
electric.”  As soon as those words come out of his mouth, the color drains
from his face.  “Damn, we’re all idiots.”

               
“What? Why?”

               
“What did I just say?” Jackson asks, looking at her.

               
“That we’re a bunch of idiots.”

               
Moaning, he puts his forehead in his hand.  “It’s an electric car.  I
thought about charging it along the way, but not how long it will take to fully
charge it.  It’s going to add four hours onto our trip.  We can’t
drive for sixteen hours, you won’t make it.”

               
“So we find a hotel room.”

               
“We’re minors, no one will give us a room,” Jackson groans.

               
“We’ll find someplace to camp then.  Let’s stop at a store and get camping
gear.  It’ll be fun.  We can shift and run around for a while. 
Get it out of my system.”

               
Jackson shakes his head.  “Everyone is going to flip out.”

               
“What are we going to do?  We’ve already come so far.  Would we
really turn around?  Let’s keep going and pretend we only figured it out
at the first charge.”

               
Jackson looks at her.  “That’s lying to everyone.  Would you really
say that to Damien?”

               
“Sure, but you have to promise to not say anything!  I want to camp under
the stars.  I’ve never been camping.  It would be so much fun.”

               
“All right, all right,” Jackson says.  “Let’s stop at the next
store.  We’ll need a tent, sleeping bags, and a lantern.”

               
She throws her hands up in the air. “
Yes
!”  Kayla dances in her
seat to the music for the next half hour.  They finally make it to a
store.  It’s not very big or crowded, which is a good thing in case
anything happens.  Kayla leans in by Jackson.  “I’m going to find a
bathroom, lock the door, and shift.”

               
“All right, I’ll wait outside the bathroom door,” Jackson replies.

               
They make their way over to the restrooms.  Kayla quickly darts into the
ladies’ room, shuts the door, and locks it. Taking a deep breath, she shifts
into a dog.  Kayla sits in the stall for a few minutes until she feels all
her energy drain. Then, she shifts back.

               
Kayla finds Jackson leaning against the wall next to the door.  “Are you
feeling better?”

               
“Much,” Kayla chirps.  “All energy expelled.”

               
“Awesome, let’s get the stuff so we can get going.”

               
“Sounds good.” Kayla giggles, bumping into him with her hip.

               
He jumps at her, and she sprints down the aisle.  She quickly makes her
way around the store, trying to find the camping equipment.  When Kayla
finds the sleeping bags, she grabs two.  She turns the corner to walk down
the next aisle just in time to see Jackson grab a tent.  “I don’t think we
need to buy anything too elaborate.”

               
“I want to be able to see the stars,” Kayla says.  “It would be a dream
come true, sleeping like that.  There won’t be much light so we’ll be able
to see everything, even the Milky Way.”

               
“Okay,” Jackson replies, grabbing a different tent.  “We’ll get this
one.  The only other thing we need is a lantern.”

               
“Get an electric one.”

               
Jackson shakes his head.  “Of course.”

               
They grab a lantern and head toward the front of the store to check out.
 Kayla’s phone rings. “Hello?”

               
“Hey, dear,” Damien says.  “Sorry I’m only calling now.  Victoria
hasn’t let me leave her room the entire morning.  We’ve done nothing but
play Yahtzee.  I don’t think I want to see dice for a while.”

               
“That’s good.  How is she feeling?”

               
“All right, she’s on pretty hard-core pain meds, so I have a very loopy
sister.  She’s excited about you coming, though.  I told her you’d be
here tomorrow.”

               
Kayla looks at Jackson.  “We may have a problem there.”

               
“Why?” Damien asks slowly.

               
“Because we didn’t think about how long it would take to charge my car. 
It will add another four hours to our trip, so we’re going to camp tonight.”

               
“
What
?  In the open with nothing to protect you?”

               
“We’ll be fine,” Kayla reassures him.  “Jackson can shift into something
scary if need be.”

               
She hears Damien groan.  “This is making me nervous.  I’ll do what I
can to get you a hotel room.”

               
“No!
”
she says quickly.
 
“
Oh come on, I want
to camp.  My parents never took me camping.  I never understood why
until now, but if we stay where no one can see, it will be okay.”

               
In a completely unamused tone, Damien replies, “So you and Jackson are going to
camp in the desert?”

               
“We’re going to go running.”

               
“So someone can shoot you?” Damien yells.  “Kayla, you are under my
protection!”

               
She stops dead in her tracks.  “Damien, I understand that, but I’m
practically an adult.  I can make this decision, and it is
really
unattractive that you’re trying to be so controlling.”

               
“I’m not trying to be controlling.  I want you safe.  That’s all I
want.”

               
“And Jackson will keep me safe,” Kayla reassures him.  “All we’re going to
do is sleep.  Park, put up the tent, and go to sleep.”

               
“That’s what you think,” Jackson whispers.

               
Kayla punches him in the arm and mouths,
“
Shut
up!
”
  He snickers and
walks to the car.  Kayla glares at him and then says to Damien, “I promise
to call you when we stop, when we put up the tent, right before we go to sleep,
and again when I wake up in the morning.”

               
“Now
that
makes me sound controlling.” Damien laughs.  “I just want
you safe.  Honestly, that is my only concern.  Can I send a guard or
two to provide extra surveillance?”

               
“Like, what, sit in the tent with us?”

               
With a snort, Damien says, “No, you wouldn’t even know they were there.”

               
“I’m not a fan of someone watching me from the shadows.”

               
“Then they can make their presence known, if that makes you feel better.”

               
“And have
them
listen in on us?” Kayla gasps.

               
A moment of silence fills the air between them before Damien asks, “Do you have
something to hide that you don’t want them overhearing?”

               
“No, but I do have secrets.”

               
“Are you really a serial killer?” Damien asks.  “Do I have to watch my
back?  Are you going to marry me for my money and then off my entire
family?”

               
Kayla bursts out laughing. “I should be careful how I answer that.  What
if I do become your wife one day?”

               
“First, you have to be my girlfriend, so does this mean you’re giving in?”

               
“NO!  No, I am not a serial killer.  No, I am not interested in you
for your money.  And you need to stop teasing me with being your
girlfriend,” Kayla snaps playfully.

               
“Mmmm, well, we’ll see.  I honestly would feel more relieved if you were
better protected.”

               
“You know very well that Jackson would jump in front of a bullet for me. 
He’s just that kind of guy.  I’ll be protected just fine.”

               
“You promise to call me before you go to sleep and when you wake up?”

               
Kayla nods even though he can’t see her. “Yes, I promise.”  She sees
Jackson waving from the car.  She rolls her eyes and walks over to
him.  He unlocks the doors and puts everything in back.  Kayla climbs
into the front seat.  “What else is going on with your family?”

               
“My mother’s a basket case, but my father is staying strong.  Courtney’s
being a mother hen.  We’re a very close family, so Victoria is being taken
care of very well.”

               
“I can’t wait to meet them.  I bet they are really nice,” Kayla says,
buckling her seat belt.

               
“Not to boast, but they really are.  So are you enjoying your road trip so
far?  Is the car working out well?”

               
Kayla nods. “Yeah, it’s great.  I’ve been killing Jackson with my singing
for hours.”

               
“The voice of an angel,” Jackson quips quietly from next to her.

               
Kayla playfully punches him again.  “I may push Jackson out of the car
when I’m driving, though.”

               
“Is he being a jerk?” Damien asks.